Roy Callender – Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet

While most people are aware of Golden Era bodybuilders like Tom Platz, Sergio Oliva, Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Roy Callender’s name has been forgotten in the pages of bodybuilding history.

Callender’s name is seldom brought up while discussing that era of bodybuilding but he certainly has a legacy worth remembering. The IFBB Hall of Famer primarily competed in the 1970s and 1980s era of bodybuilding and won several pro shows. He was also a consistent Mr. Olympia top finisher. This is his complete profile, biography, workout routine, diet, and statistics.

Roy Callender

Born: October 31, 1944
Birthplace: Bridgetown, BARBADOS
Residence: Montreal, CANADA
Nickname: Mr. Universe Roy Callender
Height: 5′ 8″ (175 cm)
Weight: 220 lbs (100 kg)

Roy Callender Biography

Roy Callender earned his Hall of Fame credentials by virtue of being a prolific competitor in a career that spanned 20 years. He won five IFBB pro titles and earned his way into the Mr. Olympia five times, finishing as high as third in 1978.

Callender begain his iron obsession at an early age, after he decided he had too much fat round his middle, even at 5′ 8″ and a modest 154 pounds. The “Barbados Bomber” trained with an intensity that matched his moniker, but his personality reflected a more reserved and easygoing demeanor, in victory or defeat.

After finishing second in the medium-height class in the NABBA Amateur Universe in 1967, 1969 and 1971, Callender decided in 1973 to try his hand at pro wrestling. For his ring persona, he was billed as “Mr. Universe”, despite the fact that he hadn’t won that contest yet.

He stopped wrestling in 1975. In the spring of 1977, Callender – by then a Canadian citizen living in Montreal – asked gym owner and photographer Jimmy Caruso to train him for a comeback. Caruso said that if Callender could commit completely to his training and dietary demands, he would be Mr. Universe before year’s end.

On September 10, 1977, Callender, competing for the first time since 1971, won the Canadian Championships in Calgary, Alberta. Three weeks later, in Columbus, Ohio, he was victorious in the heavyweight class of the Mr. International, and a month after that, he earned top middleweight class honors at the IFBB Mr. Universe in Nimes, France, coming close to fulfilling Caruso’s prediction.

Next, Callender notched a win at the 1979 IFBB Pro Universe, edging out Albert Beckles. Callender shone again at the first-ever IFBB pro contest in Canada, the 79 Diamond Cup in August. It would be his final bodybuilding victory, although in his next eight tries he made top five, including two runner-up finishes.

Callender entered the Mr. O five times. He came second among heavyweights and third overall in 1978, fourth among heavyweights in 1979, seventh in 1980 (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback year), fourth in 1981 and fifth in 1984. He retired after placing seventh at the Grand Prix in Essen, Germany, in 1987, bringing a long and respectable bodybuilding career to a close.

Competition History

1967

• Mr. Southeast Britain, Winner
• Mr. Universe – NABBA, Medium, 2nd

1968

• Mr. Southeast Britain, 2nd
• Mr United Kingdom, Winner
• Universe – IFBB, 6th
• Mr World – IFBB, Medium, 2nd

1969

• Mr Universe – NABBA, Medium, 2nd

1970

• Mr World – IFBB, Medium, 2nd

1971

• Mr Universe – NABBA, Medium, 2nd

1977

• Canadian Championships – CBBF, Medium, 1st
• Canadian Championships – CBBF, Overall Winner
• Mr International – IFBB, HeavyWeight, 1st
• Universe – IFBB, MiddleWeight, 1st

1978

• Night of Champions – IFBB, 2nd
• Olympia – IFBB, HeavyWeight, 2nd
• Olympia – IFBB, 3rd
• Professional World Cup – IFBB, 3rd
• Universe – Pro – IFBB, Overall Winner

1979

• Best in the World – IFBB, Professional, 2nd
• Canada Diamond Pro Cup – IFBB, Winner
• Canada Pro Cup – IFBB, Did not place
• Florida Pro Invitational – IFBB, 6th
• Grand Prix Pennsylvania – IFBB, 2nd
• Grand Prix Vancouver – IFBB, Winner
• Olympia – IFBB, HeavyWeight, 4th
• Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – IFBB, 4th
• Universe – Pro – IFBB, Winner
• World Pro Championships – IFBB, Winner

1980

• Grand Prix Pennsylvania – IFBB, 3rd
• Night of Champions – IFBB, 3rd
• Olympia – IFBB, 7th
• Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – IFBB, 3rd

1981

• Grand Prix California – IFBB, 2nd
• Grand Prix Louisiana – IFBB, 3rd
• Grand Prix Washington – IFBB, 2nd
• Olympia – IFBB, 4th

1982

• World Pro Championships – IFBB, 5th

1984

• Olympia – IFBB, 5th

1987

• Grand Prix Germany (2) – IFBB, 7th
• Night of Champions – IFBB, Did not place
• World Pro Championships – IFBB, 12th

Roy Callender Workout

Roy Callender got the attention of the bodybuilding community when he emerged on the competitive scene with relatively less training experience. While people were sold on the idea of him being genetically gifted to make the massive strides, the veteran bodybuilder did not like the reasoning.

He had built a muscular physique with relentless work, aggressive dieting, and a hard training routine. He once explained:

“It’s true that I’ve won international titles after two years of training and, incidentally, without ever hearing of steroids. Because of that, people call me gifted, but they don’t eat with me and they don’t train with me. They might come to the gym when I start, but when they’re done training and at a bar somewhere having a beer, I’m still in the gym. If being able to work hard can be termed gifted, then I am gifted, but you can bet that hard work has put me where I am today.”

Roy Callender followed a unique training routine that some may find intimidating, to say the least. The veteran bodybuilder worked all the muscle groups in his body in a three-day training split. But unlike the standard push-pull-leg training split, his workouts were composed differently and were far more intense.

Calender switched the muscle grouping routinely and there were mini-workouts within workouts in the complex training system.

Each training session lasted approximately three to four hours and Callender repeated the three-day training split continuously for three weeks without taking a single day off. After the third week, he would take one or two days off. Following the off day, Callender would then go on to repeat the three-week training marathon once again.

Roy Callender worked with light to moderate weights and believed in slow reps to increase the time muscles spend under tension.

Roy Callender’s Unconventional Training Program

Day 1

Calves: 1-hour routine

• Heel raises while seated at the machine
• Toe pushes on the leg press machine (head at the high end of the platform)

Thighs: 1-hour routine

• Sissy squats (100 reps in 2 minutes)
• Lunges (up to 200 reps)
• Leg extensions ( toe pointed)
• Leg curls

Back: 90 minute routine

• Chins to clavicles, to back of neck chins on the triangular bar.
• Pulldowns to the front and back of the neck 
• Stiff-legged deadlifts on a bench
• One-arm dumbbell row
• Hyperextensions
• T bar Rowing

Triceps: 15-minute routine

• Lat press downs

Day 2

Thighs: 30-minute routine

• Leg Extensions on the machine

Chest:  Regular heavy bench presses

• Bench Presses supersetted with flat bench flyes
• Parallel bar dips
• Pullovers across a bench
• Pulley crossovers, varied angle

Shoulders: 45 minutes routine

• Heavy barbell or Dumbbell shrugs

Biceps: 15-minute workout

• Choice of regular barbell curl, incline curl, or concentration curl. Uses only one

Triceps: 45 minutes routine

• Dumbbell triceps press in lying position 
• Lat press downs
• Reverse dips.feet elevated, body down

Day 3

Calves: 30-minute routine

• Standing hell raises
• Donkey raises

Rib Cage and Serratus: 15-minute routine

• Straight arm pullovers across the bench

Shoulders: 1-hour routine

• Front presses seated or press behind the neck
• Seated dumbbell press
• Alternate dumbbell press
• Lateral raises with dumbbells in regular style, bent over style. Also uses pulleys

Triceps:15 minutes routine

• Lat machine pressdown.

Biceps: 45 minutes routine

• Regular barbell or dumbbell curls seated or alternate dumbbell curls, preacher bench curls

Abdominals: 20 minutes routine

Roy Callender Diet

Roy Callender admittedly had little knowledge of dieting and nutrition. He openly said that his physique could have been much better if he understood dieting better. Unfortunately, he did not have the right people around him to guide him in the right direction in terms of dieting.

But with time, his understanding of bodybuilding diets and nutrition improved as his career progressed and Callender was able to improve his physique further.

Typically his full day of eating looked like this:

Breakfast

• Oatmeal
• Berries
• Protein shake

Mid-Morning Snack

• A handful of nuts
• One apple

Lunch

• Grilled chicken breast
• Brown rice
• Steamed vegetables

Afternoon Snack

• Greek yogurt
• 1 Banana

Dinner

• Baked salmon
• Quinoa
• Salad

Evening Snack

• Cottage cheese
• A handful of grapes

To Conclude…

Even if new bodybuilding fans don’t know about Roy Callender’s contribution to the sport, he has a legacy and competition record that speaks for itself. The IFBB rewarded the veteran bodybuilder by inducting him into the Hall of Fame, which nothing but solidifies his contribution to the sport.

Roy Callender Gallery

Roy Callender Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIsE_sHViHY&feature=youtu.be

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